How To Vote Online And Telephone With An Ipod Or Ipod

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1 P.O. Box 1749 Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 3A5 Canada Item No Halifax Regional Council November 10, 2015 TO: Mayor Savage and Members of Halifax Regional Council SUBMITTED BY: Richard Butts, Chief Administrative Officer Mike Labrecque, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer DATE: SUBJECT: November-4-15 Award - RFP # P15-327, Integrated Internet and Telephone Voting ORIGIN The election office has commenced planning for the 2016 Municipal and School Board elections including securing services that may be required to conduct the election. LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY Under the HRM Charter, Section 79 Halifax Regional Council may expend money for municipal purposes. Administrative Order #35, the Procurement Policy, requires Council to approve the award of contracts for sole sources exceeding $50,000 or $500,000 for Tenders and RFPs. See Charter Sections 79(1) and 322(3). RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that Halifax Regional Council approve a standing offer agreement with the highest scoring proponent to RFP # P15-327, Integrated Internet and Telephone Voting, Intelivote for the period beginning May 1, 2016 and ending April 30, Per the conditions of the RFP, the use of the standing offer is only upon the approval of Halifax Regional Council of an integrated internet and telephone voting strategy, per Section 146A of the Municipal Elections Act.

2 Regional Council Report November 10, 2015 BACKGROUND Comprised of 16 polling districts with approximately 20,500 eligible electors per district for an approximate total of 327,615 eligible electors, the Halifax Regional Municipality administers Municipal and School Board elections every four years and Special Elections as required. The permanent electors list is maintained by Elections Nova Scotia and shared with the Municipal Returning Officer in advance of each election. Halifax Regional Council consists of one Councillor elected for each of the 16 districts and a Mayor elected at large. Halifax Regional School Board is comprised of 10 Board members, one elected in each of eight electoral districts, and one African Nova Scotian representative elected at large by entitled voters plus one appointed member from the Mi'kmaq community. HRM also conducts elections for the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial (CSAP) electing three members at large to the Board by entitled electors. In addition, Council can direct the returning officer to hold a plebiscite to seek the opinion or approval of the electorate on a particular issue to be held with a general or special election. In January 2004 Council passed a motion directing staff to: examine complementary voting alternatives, including costs/savings and timelines for the next election and bring back a report and/or an appropriate by-law for Council s consideration. The following objectives were considered in adopting a complementary voting option: the transparency, integrity and accountability of the election process is the paramount consideration in evaluating voting options and changes to the current election process; increased voter access should be equitable across all areas of HRM; options considered should have a positive impact on voter participation; and consideration be given to improved speed of reporting election results. HRM subsequently utilized Internet/phone voting options in the: 2008 Municipal and School Board election; 2009 Special Municipal election for District 06; and 2012 Municipal and School Board election. Following 2012 Municipal and School Board elections, the Elections Review Committee (working with the Department of Municipal Affairs) recommended that the opportunity to purchase e-voting services in bulk be explored. In addition to developing a model by-law, bulk purchasing could bring consistency in approach to e-voting across the province. As a result, the Province of Nova Scotia approached the Association of Municipal Administrators Nova Scotia (AMANS) and requested that the Association coordinate a bulk purchase of e-voting services and develop a model e-voting by-law in time for 2016 Municipal and School Board elections. AMANS has been working with the Halifax Regional Municipality among other municipal units on this project through AMANS E-Voting Services Bulk Purchase Committee. The Halifax Regional Municipality offered to take the lead on this project as: it aligns with the municipality s commitment to foster meaningful collaboration across municipal units the municipality has most experience with electronic voting, having offered e-voting to electors in two municipal elections and one special election; and the municipality has the legal, logistical and technological resources on staff to develop a robust Request for Proposal (RFP) that is inclusive of other municipal units.

3 Regional Council Report November 10, 2015 The goal of this RFP process is to enter into a standing offer agreement commencing May 1, 2016 and ending April 30, 2020 for the provision of internet and telephone voting on an as required basis for the planned 2016 General and School Board Election and in the event of a special election subject to the direction from Council to use Integrated Internet & Telephone voting as a voting channel. DISCUSSION Halifax Regional Council will be considering a report and recommendations regarding voting methods for the 2016 Municipal and School Board in December Other municipalities are proceeding with recommendations for consideration of their Council s shortly. Award of the Standing Offer will enable the Halifax Regional Municipality and the twenty-eight (28) other participating municipalities to move forward with a secured vendor and firm price agreement in place when voting options are considered. RFP # P15-327, Integrated Telephone and Internet Voting was publicly advertised on the Province of Nova Scotia tenders website and closed on September 11, Proposals were received from: Dominion Voting Services Everyone Counts Intelivote Systems Inc. (ISI) Scytl (Secure Electronic Voting) Proposals were evaluated by staff from Municipal Clerk s Office, Information Communications and Technology (ICT) and an external evaluator (Municipal Clerk, Cape Breton Regional Municipality). This evaluation process was facilitated by Procurement based on the criteria listed in Appendix A, Evaluation Criteria. The CAO of Kentville also participated as an independent observer in the evaluation. The RFP was scored using a two-envelope process. Envelope One was the technical component of the RFP and Envelope Two consisted of the financial elements of the proposals. The proposals from Dominion Voting and Everyone Counts did not meet the minimum requirements of achieving 75% of the available technical score as stated in the Request for Proposals. The final scores for the remaining proponents are listed below: Proponent Score (max 110) ISI (Intelivote Systems Inc.) Scytl (Secure Electronic Voting) Intelivote Systems has extensive experience in providing internet and telephone voting services having serviced past elections in Halifax and other Nova Scotia Municipalities as well as having provided e- voting services to 48 municipalities in the 2014 Ontario municipal elections. There is a cost differential of approximately $100,000 between Intelivote (ISI) and Scytl, as there are no proposed costs from ISI for technical support, Proof of Concept and this proposal includes beneficial services such as candidate access (for a cumulative saving of $36,200), the cost differential is $63,800. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS Subject to Regional Council approval of the strategy the funds will be included in the 2016/17 budget deliberations for Operating Account A125 (Elections). Funding to account A125 is provided from the Elections Reserve account Q313. No financial impact to 2015/16. Per the conditions of the RFP, the use of the standing offer is only upon the approval of Halifax Regional Council of an integrated internet and telephone voting strategy, per Section 146A of the Municipal Elections Act.

4 Regional Council Report November 10, 2015 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS None are identified. ALTERNATIVES None Recommended ATTACHMENTS Appendix A Evaluation Scores A copy of this report can be obtained online at then choose the appropriate meeting date, or by contacting the Office of the Municipal Clerk at , or Fax Report Prepared by: Lori McKinnon, Election Coordinator, Procurement Review: Holly Fancy, Manager, Procurement, Report Approved by: Amanda Whitewood, Director of Finance & ICT/CFO,

5 Regional Council Report November 10, 2015 Appendix A Evaluation Scores Criteria Summary Total Intelivote Scytl Score Communication Clarity and readability of written proposal Skills Business Experience & Team composition and experience Understanding Nova Scotia Municipal Election needs Technical Solution Project Management Methodology Proponent and any proposed subcontractors/partners have been providing electronic voting or election solutions as their primary business for a minimum of 10 years with confirmed references service quality and compliance with election requirements and contractual agreements. Service and compliance with past contractual agreements with HRM and other municipalities (if relevant). Demonstrated history of business and any proposed subcontractors/partners in successfully completing projects of a similar nature on time, on budget and in compliance with election requirements Balance of level of effort vs. team roles (project mgmt., technical, etc.) Individual team members appropriate skills, education and experience in successfully delivering projects of similar scope and size Solution compliance with the Election Act of Nova Scotia and the Education Act of Nova Scotia as it applies to the Municipal and School Board Elections and requirements of the RFP Understanding of the requirements, the scope of work and the municipal organizational structure Acceptable proposed schedule and work plan Solution addresses all business aspects of the project as identified in the RFP Value added propositions and recommendations Attention to relevant challenges that the committee has not considered Business quality assurance standards and practices Solution addresses all technical aspects of the project as identified in the RFP Solution draws on proven methodology Solution is flexible and scalable Solution is cost and time effective (time effective refers to the resources and degree of effort required on the part of HRM to ensure solution meets stated requirements) Technical quality assurance standards and practices Management structure within Proponents organization/project team Proposed communication methods between proponent team and HRM Subtotal (Technical Proposal) Cost Delivery of Services Estimated Cost of HRM voting services excluding postage (net HST included)** $495, $395, Proof of Concept Cost of HRM POC (Net HST incl.) $0.00 $20, Total Score